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We’re sandwiched here between the one hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment (August 18, votes for women!) and the anniversary of it becoming “official” (August 26). So let’s look at some books about women’s suffrage!
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones. This is out in September, but you can PRE-order it (exciting). For a very, very long time, the story of women getting the vote was Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Seneca Falls and then Susan B. Anthony got arrested and women could vote. If Black women were mentioned at all, it was a passing reference to Sojourner Truth or Ida B. Wells, so I am very excited about this book.
The Women’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss. While Weiss is clearly a Carrie Chapman Catt stan and not so much on the side of Alice Paul, she did a ton of research for this, and it’s a great summary of the final fight in Nashville to pass the Nineteenth. There is so much drama! And so much shady politics. It definitely made me want to take a trip to Nashville, so I guess given our present time, I’ll schedule that for…TBD. Read if you like a good narrative.
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall and A. D’Amico. I somehow don’t own this yet, and I feel like a reeeal dummy for not. This goes back to the beginning, world history-speaking, and looks at imperialism, suffrage, civil rights, and then women’s rights from the 1960s to now. And it’s all illustrated! It reads like a comic book, so if you want to get in some history without diving into some academic tome, here’s a good option.
Register to vote, and that’s it for this week! You can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the nonfiction For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.